The invention relates to transporting apparatus in general, and more particularly to improvements in conveyors which employ endless belts. Still more particularly, the invention relates to belt conveyors which can be utilized with advantage to transport discrete objects or bulk goods along an elongated straight path extending from a first station to a second station, especially a second station which is located at a level above or below the level of the first station.
Heretofore known belt conveyors for the transport of commodities between stations which are disposed at different levels normally employ a plurality of endless belts in series, i.e., each such endless belt defines a portion of the path for the transport of commodities from the first station to the second station. The drives for discrete endless belts must be adjustable so that the movements of neighboring endless belts can be properly synchronized. The transporting stretches or reaches (normally the upper reaches) of neighboring endless belts define transversely extending clearances or recesses which affect the versatility of such conveyors, i.e., certain types of commodities cannot be transported by a conveyor which is assembled of a series of discrete endless belts. Moreover, the recesses or clearances affect the ability of conventional multiple-belt conveyors to transport goods having a particular weight, size and/or shape; for example, such conveyors cannot be used for the transport of goods consisting of discrete particles having a size below a certain range of acceptable sizes or consisting of lightweight particles. Still further, the transfer of conveyed objects or articles from belt to belt normally affects the orientation of transported objects and renders it necessary to guide the objects at both sides of the path and/or to reorient the objects at the second station. Still further, conventional belt conveyors which employ several endless belts must be equipped with complex, bulky and expensive control systems for individual belts; it is often necessary to drive each belt by a separate prime mover and each prime mover must be separately connected to a discrete energy source or to a common energy source for two or more belts. Moreover, the initial, maintenance and repair costs of such conveyors are very high.
For the aforedescribed reasons, presently known belt conveyors employing two or more endless belts which operate in series have failed to gain acceptance in many branches of the industry. As already mentioned above, such conveyors are not suitable for the transport of commodities in the form of small particulate material and/or lightweight material.